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Japanese idols have not finished enamouring the crowd of Japan Expo! This year again, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary, Task have Fun, who have made their debut in 2016, have left their mark thanks to their delight and humour. The three young women in their late teens have put all their energy into the performance, while smiling! The style of the group, very pop, is rooted in the idol genre. Beware, despite their cute side, Task have Fun are tough girls, and told us in this special interview that they were here to live the moment to its fullest. They even took this trip in Paris as an opportunity to film the music video of their new song “Gyakkō“. Enjoy!
Hi, at first could you please introduce yourselves for our readers?
Shiaraoka Kyoka: Hi, I’m Shiaraoka Kyoka.
Kumazawa Fuuka: I’m Kumazawa Fuuka.
Satonaka Natsuki: My name is Satonaka Natsuki.
What is the meaning of your group’s name?
Satonaka Natsuki: So, the name of our group is ‘Task have Fun’. ‘Task’ refers to daily tasks, and our concept is to have fun with daily tasks and enjoy it.
Talking about that, what do you like the most in your daily idol life?
Kumazawa Fuuka: What we like the most is concerts!
Is there any concert which particularly marked your career?
Satonaka Natsuki: Not really, it’s true that we often hold concerts. All of our shows marked us a lot, there is not really one that especially marked us more than the others.
You made your debut in 2016 with the name ‘TASK Part ONE’. Why did you change your name so soon after your debut?
Shiaraoka Kyoka: Let’s say that this name was not really an official one, it was just our name when we debuted, so we changed it into something more official later.
Your song “Hi・Ra・Ri” was released last March, what is this song about?
Satonaka Natsuki: The topic of the song, it’s spring season. So, spring is a beginning, a starting point, and this song is based on a separation. When a school year ends for example, it’s a song that is going to mark people who listen to it.
You seemed like you were having a lot of fun in your music video “In The Beautiful Day”, what was the most significant thing for you while filming it?
Satonaka Natsuki: This song is quite different compared with our song ‘Hi・Ra・Ri’, it’s really something dynamic. The choreography is really dynamic.
Shiaraoka Kyoka: We usually film in studio, but this time we filmed outside, so it was really different, like being able to see the sky for example. That was the most significant thing for us and what we appreciated.
When a new single is presented to you, what are you the most excited for (choreography, music)?
Shiaraoka Kyoka: At the beginning, line distribution in the songs is not really made. We decide the distribution after, and we really appreciate this step.
When you need to rest and to evacuate you stress, what do you like to do?
Kumazawa Fuuka: I like to play video games.
Satonaka Natsuki: I like staying at home and invite friends over to watch movies for example.
Shiaraoka Kyoka: I love watching dramas.
Earlier this year, you celebrated your 3-year anniversary, did you do something special for this special date?
Satonaka Natsuki: For our three years, we had a tour! In each one of our hometowns, and then we held a bigger show later.
How did you react the first time you were told you were going to Japan Expo?
Kumazawa Fuuka & Satonaka Natsuki: We were so surprised!
Kumazawa Fuuka: We were so happy to be invited at Japan Expo, because all of the people who come here are quite famous in Japan. We’re proud of having been elected idol representatives at Japan Expo!
Before coming here as idols, did you know a little bit about the festival?
Satonaka Natsuki: We already knew it, we had heard about this event.
Was coming here part of your projects?
Satonaka Natsuki: Last year, we thought about it, we told ourselves it could be cool to participate!
Kumazawa Fuuka: So our wish was granted.
Thus, did you have time to visit Paris beside Japan Expo?
Satonaka Natsuki: Not yet, we’ll have time to do it after Japan Expo. But we would really like to eat macarons! (laughs)
Beside eating macarons, did you plan anything to do in Paris?
Kumazawa Fuuka: Going to see the Eiffel Tower!
Satonaka Natsuki: We would like to see the Arc de Triomphe and take pictures in front of it!
Shiaraoka Kyoka: Do you have any suggestion for us? (laughs)
CKJ: Some museums are really interesting, as the Louvre Museum.
Kumazawa Fuuka: Oh yes, with Mona Lisa!
CKJ: Exactly!
Your three birthdays are approximately in the same period of time, did you have time to celebrate or to do something special?
Shiaraoka Kyoka: There was an event for our close birthdays, and we gave each others gifts.
Do you happen to know some words in French?
Kumazawa Fuuka: Enchanté! [editor’s note: ‘Nice to meet you’]
Satonaka Natsuki: J’adore la France! [editor’s note: ‘I love France’] (laughs)
Shiaraoka Kyoka: Je suis Shiaraoka Kyoka! [editor’s note: ‘I’m Shiaraoka Kyoka’]
Now that you met the French audience, what do you think about the fans?
Satonaka Natsuki: We were really surprised by French people’s appearance, because they have a higher nose, and they’re taller. (laughs) Regarding cosplay too, we were amazed by the quality.
Did you think that Japanese culture was that popular in France before entering the festival Japan Expo?
Shiaraoka Kyoka: We found out that French people loved Japanese culture. When we went through Paris, we saw a lot of Japanese restaurants, almost as much as in Japan. We were really surprised, we noticed that everything about Japanese culture and cooking is really trendy here.
Which parts of the Japanese culture would you suggest to French people to find out more about it?
Satonaka Natsuki: For me, it would be wearing kimono! It’s very beautiful, really related to Japanese traditions. Japanese women wear yukata, which look like kimono, during hanabi [editor’s note: traditional summer festivities with fireworks]. It’s really something I want French people to discover.
Kumazawa Fuuka: It would be anime for me, especially the movie Your Name.
CKJ: It had a great success in France too!
Kumazawa Fuuka: Oh, I see!
Shiaraoka Kyoka: I was really surprised that there was no konbini [editor’s note: little neighborhood supermarket] in France, whereas they’re open 24/7 in Japan.
CKJ: Indeed, there is nothing like that here! (laughs)
To conclude, do you have a last message for the French fans?
Kumazawa Fuuka: We would like to come back in France! We were amazed and really happy to see that a lot of French people learn Japanese, and they even try to communicate with us in Japanese. So, we are going to work on learning French to come back to see our French fans!
We would like to thank Japan Expo for making this interview possible, and Task have Fun for their spontaneity!
